Amazing Love

This is something I wrote a few years ago, and since it's Good Friday, I thought I'd share it (unedited)...

"Last night at CYT we sang the words 'Amazing Love, how can it be/ that you, my King, would die for me?'* As I thought about the words, I thought about kings, and I suddenly had a picture in my head. Picture a medieval king on his throne. A peasant, dirty and in rags, is brought before him. The man has stolen a horse, and the law demands that he hang. His guilt is undeniable, and the king passes sentence. Soldiers begin to drag the man away. Suddenly, the king stands. 'Stop!' he commands, 'Yes, this man is guilty, but I will die in his place.' Instantly, the peasant is set free, and the king is taken to the gallows.

Unlikely? Absurd! Yet how much greater was my Lord, and how much worse was I? The depth of God's love is greater than we could ever grasp."


* "I'm forgiven, because You were forsaken.
I'm accepted, You were condemned.
I'm alive and well, Your Spirit is within me,
Because You died and rose again.

Amazing love, how can it be
That you, My King, would die for me?
Amazing love, I know it's true.
It's my joy to honor You.
In all I do, I honor you."

Poem- "The Call"

Perhaps someday I'll post about the circumstances during which God placed this poem on my heart, but for now, I pray that God uses it to speak to you as He used it to speak to me. My poems are not really mine; they are His gifts to me when I need them desperately.

"The Call"

Can I withhold a part of me from Him who gave His all?
Can I shrink back and hide my face when I should hear His call?
What might He ask of me, so dear, to which my heart must cling?
Is anything too much to give for Him, my bleeding King?
It was no path of comfort walked by Christ, the Lord of all.
The throne of heav'n He left behind, born in a humble stall.
He had no palace rich and grand, no life of ease He led.
No, my dear Savior had no place to lay His weary head.
No jeweled robes clothed His worthy frame, ne'er did the masses bow.
Instead, it was a crown of thorns which graced His holy brow.
That voice, so mighty, strong and grand, which caused the earth to quake
Cried out in anguish from the cross, where He suffered for my sake.
And now He calls me to this narrow road of sacrifice.
Can I see Him dying on the cross and cry, "Too great a price"?
No, nothing is to much to give to Him who gave His all.
And so, by grace, I'll not shrink back, and I will heed His call.

Poem- "The Exchange"

God place this poem on my heart after an Ellerslie session. (The Costly Gospel, for those who were there.) I long to live daily in light of the cross. (The picture is from a play I was in this past summer. Being a part impacted me deeply. Perhaps I will share more on that in another post. Photo credit: www.middlemanphotography.com)

"The Exchange"

A cross of shame, a sinner's dread

I see on Calvary,

Where deep in anguish, cursed, despised,

My Savior died for me.

Can I to my own life cling

When I Thy suffering see?

Gladly Lord, I all forsake,

For Thou gave all for me.

My Jesus, let me not unmoved

Continue in my ways.

All I am for all Thou art;

A sacrifice of praise.

These empty treasures, once esteemed,

This nothing that was mine,

So long held dear, I now despise,

Exchanging them for Thine.

Thy tender love, Thy precious grace,

My longings all fulfill.

Such depths of mercy hold my heart,

Yet Thou art deeper still.

With joy I bow before Thy throne,

To Thee my all I bring.

A giving up, a laying down,

And in return, my King.